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New Army Rocket Fails Another Test

March 23, 1996|By Richard Liefer.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The newest Army rocket being developed to defend against medium-range missiles failed to hit its target in a test Friday, the Pentagon announced. It was the second failed attempt to demonstrate that the Theater High Altitude Area Defense missile can intercept a target in flight. The earlier attempt was last December.

In Friday's test at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, the missile failed to carry out in-flight command and control orders. It flew past the target and was remotely detonated.

The THAAD defensive system attempts to go beyond existing Army anti-missile missiles, such as the Patriot, to defend a wider area under ballistic missile attack and to destroy incoming missiles earlier in their flight.

The Clinton administration decided last month to slow down development of the system to save money. It reduced spending over the next six years by $2 billion, to a total of $3 billion.